Inner Spirit as the Sublime Model for Virility

What differentiates one living being from another essentially is the variation in the content and form of the virility in each of them. Here ‘living being’ should include not only the conventional life forms but also the myriad man-made organizations of objects that perform functions of varying complexity. In its most sublime manifestation it coincides with the Inner Spirit. The manifestation of Inner spirit as the sublime model for virility is being described now.

Oordhvamoolo/vakshakha esho/shvatthah sanatanah
Tadeva shukram tad brahma tadevamrutamuchyate
Tasmin lokah shritah sarve tadu natyeti kinchanah etadvai tat

The inner spirit manifesting as the sublime form virility is like a banyan tree hanging upside down with its roots above and the branches below spreading downwards. It draws its nourishment from the ethereal cavern of the inner space. It descends to capture the lower domains into its fold. This banyan tree, this prime model for sublime virility, is the primordial cause of the manifested universe. It contains in it the essence of the manifested universe. By identifying with this model one experiences the nectar of immortality. All the domains in the manifested universe draw sustenance from this model and there is nothing here that can transcend it. It is the same inner spirit to which one turns to when he withdraws his sense organs and mind from the external world.

Yadidam kincha jagat sarvam prana ejati nihrustam
Mahat bhayam vajramudyatam ya etadviduramrutaste bhavanti

Through this ‘tree of life’ the life forces radiating from the inner spirit enters all that constitute the manifested universe to make them come out of their dormancy. The descending of the life force is like an awe-inspiring thunderbolt. When one sees it as an alien force it inspires fear. On the other hand, when one identifies with it, it acts as the elixir of immortality.

Bhayadasyagnistapati bhayattapati suryah
Bhayadindrashcha vayushcha mrutyur dhavati panchamah

The five forms of life forces are prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana. Prana has the quality of fire. It burns other things and generates the inner passions. Apana has the quality of surya. It burns itself and generates energy for all around. Vyana has the quality of indra. It keeps extending its sphere of influence through the pursuit of ideals. Samana has the quality of air. It maintains the sense of equanimity in all contexts. The fifth form is udana. One transcends and moves to higher planes by the operation of udana. Udana is verily death. One goes up to higher planes by ceasing to exist where one was. Fear of death is also the fear of evolutionary movement. The operation of all these life forces can be discerned in the tree of life. They act in accordance with the dictates of the inner spirit.

Iha chedakashad bodhum prak shareerasya visrasah
Tatah sargeshu lokeshu shareeratvaya kalpate

The sublime model for virility that corresponds to the inner spirit is to be realized during the life in this world. If this does not happen and one imagines that his virility is supported by the myriad empirical objects associated with him he keeps wandering in domains where creation and consummation are ongoing processes. He keeps accepting and discarding bodies and suffers the traumas associated with that. He remains captive in the cycle of birth and death.